What Greenhouse is, and is not
The short version, before you read anything else on this site.
What it is
- An app you install on your own Xbox, in the developer mode Microsoft provides.
- A way to run Windows games you already own on that console.
- A downloader that uses your own Steam sign-in to fetch your own games.
- A compatibility database that records what actually happens, including failures.
- Funded by one Patreon membership, with a single tier.
What it is not
- Not a source of games. It does not include, host, mirror or sell any game.
- Not a jailbreak. It does not modify the console's firmware or defeat its security.
- Not a DRM or anti-cheat bypass. Titles protected that way are recorded as unsupported.
- Not an emulator. The games are Windows builds, running as Windows builds.
- Not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Microsoft, Valve or any publisher.
- Not a guarantee that any particular title runs.
The longer answers
Do I get games with a membership?
No. Membership pays for Greenhouse and the per-title work that makes your own copies run. You bring your own games, bought by you, in your own Steam account. If you do not own a title, Greenhouse cannot play it.
Does Greenhouse download games for me?
It downloads your games, with your Steam sign-in, from Steam, onto your console. You approve the sign-in on your own phone and Greenhouse never sees your password. It will not fetch anything your account does not own.
Does this modify my Xbox?
No. Developer mode is a feature Microsoft ships on retail consoles, switched on from a Microsoft app and switched off again from the same screen. Nothing in Greenhouse touches the console's firmware or its protections, and your games, saves and account survive going either direction. See the install guide.
Can it run a game with DRM or anti-cheat?
Some commercial DRM wrappers and all kernel-level anti-cheat stop a title from running under Greenhouse. We do not try to get around either — not as a technical limitation we are working on, but as a line we do not cross. Those titles are listed in the compatibility database as walls, with the reason named, so you can check before you spend an evening on it.
Will my favourite game work?
Check the database. Every entry carries the console model, the Greenhouse version and the date it was tested, because “it works” without those is not information. If your title is not listed, add it to the queue; if you tried it yourself, send a report, including a failure.
Is this legal?
Greenhouse distributes no game content and circumvents no protection. You run software you own, on hardware you own, in a mode its manufacturer provides. What Greenhouse itself does is for us to get right, and we would rather say “that title does not run” than ship something that makes this answer longer.